Materials and equipment for activities described in the itinerary (including building materials where required)

Payments and donations to the local communities visited

Presentations and discussions led by local staff and guest speakers

Sheets, pillowcases, and mosquito net

Note – Rubber boots are also available for free hire, although not all sizes are available – some people may have to buy their own pair in Puerto Maldonado (approx. cost $8USD). We will also supply wildlife guide books and photo guides to help identify the wildlife you will see.

**Please note that this tour can be organised on request for private departures.
* Pricing is subject to change at anytime until full payment has been received.
* A minimum of 2 adults is required to guarantee this departure.
A non-refundable deposit of $1000 AUD per person is required to secure your place. Final payment is due no later than 60 days prior to departure. Travel insurance is mandatory for travelling with Crooked Compass. For full terms and conditions, please click here.

Activity Scale

Help build a world where nature conservation and sustainability thinking are cornerstones of a society's development and well-being, result in a healthy and prosperous Planet Earth for everyone. Your objectives of this adventure are to identify and implement long-lasting methods to conserve Peru's biological and cultural diversity while contributing to the improvement of people's lives. You will achieve this through a tried and tested combination of projects focusing on scientific research; environmental education; green business development; collaborative engagement with local communities, non-profits, companies, government institutions and donors; as well as skills training and team-building among the young, advocacy and information sharing.

Day 1 - Arrival Puerto Maldonado

Welcome to Peru! Upon arrival in Puerto Maldonado, you will be greeted and transferred to your hotel. Once you have freshened up and settled in to your room, you will begin a 3 – 4hr orientation, including talks and presentations about the planned itinerary and activities. This will be followed by a guided walk around town so you can get your bearings, and then you will enjoy dinner at a local restaurant near the central plaza. (D)

Overnight in Puerto Maldonado

Day 2 - Serpentarium Tropifauna Animal Rescue Centre

After breakfast you will travel approx. 15min out of the city to Serpentarium Tropifauna Animal Rescue Centre to begin your animal welfare and rehabilitation activities. These activities will include: (1) Preparing food and feeding the permanent and temporary animal residents (monkeys, kinkajous, tortoises, snakes, birds, and fish), including enrichment feeding (hiding food within enclosures); (2) Repairing, expanding, and generally increasing the space of existing enclosures; (3) Improving the signage in and around the Animal Rescue Centre (in English and Spanish); (4) Monitoring the physical and health status of animals, especially snakes, tortoises and recent arrivals, including assisting the resident vet with implanting identification chips (PIT tags) under the skin of snakes, tortoises and other animals destined for release back into the wild; (5) building watering baths and feeding stations for the wildlife that lives in and around the Animal Rescue Centre (especially birds and night monkeys that have made the small isolated forest patch alongside the Centre their home, and which suffer in the dry season (April to November) from a lack of safe drinking water and food); (6) Reintroduction of tortoises and snakes back into natural rainforest; (7) Other tasks associated with animal care that may be urgent at the time.

For these activities you will be split into teams of 2-5 people, each led by a (English speaking) team coordinator. The planned program will be to help at the Animal Rescue Centre for 7 hours per day. Lunch is included and will either be delivered to the centre, or you may head back into town to eat. In the evening back at the hotel, after dinner, there will be the option to see a documentary about environmental and socio-cultural information related to the Peruvian Amazon rainforest, followed by a short discussion. (B,L,D)

Day 3 - Mariposario Tambopata

Today’s activities are as per day 2, however teams will swap activities. In the late afternoon you will visit the Butterfly Farm (Mariposario Tambopata) located next to the airport. Here you will have a guided walk and learn about butterfly conservation and management. This is followed by assisting the team with aspects of butterfly rearing and husbandry and it is an excellent opportunity to take close up images of these beautiful and rare species of butterfly.

Return to the hotel for dinner, after which you will listen to a talk about Harpy eagles and their conservation, led by a local raptor expert, again with time for discussion afterwards. (B,L,D)

Day 4 - Kerenda Homet

Once again, teams will today be swapping over their activities. In the late afternoon, you will visit Kerenda Homet, a small private reserve on the outskirts of the city. Here you will learn about a successful reforestation project led by a local family, as well as information on medicinal and edible plants that grow on the reserve. You will be back at the hotel by 6.00pm, in time for dinner and an optional documentary/discussion session. (B,L,D)

Day 5 - Sandoval Lake

Today you will take a day trip to Sandoval Lake, an oxbow lake situated within the Tambopata National Reserve and located relatively close to Puerto Maldonado (1.5hrs total travel time, by boat and foot). Living by the lake for decades, your guide today is a local biologist who will share with you their vast knowledge of the unique ecology and animals you will encounter on today’s adventure. Board a paddle canoe to search the margins of the lake for wildlife (especially Hoatzin, monkeys, black caiman, and giant river otters). Climb to the top of a canopy tower for a spectacular panoramic view across the lake, and have lunch at a local homestay. Our aim is to be back in Puerto Maldonado by approx. 5.00pm, in time for dinner. (B,L,D)

Day 6 & 7- Wildlife release

The next two days may be dedicated to releasing some of the animals that are now well enough to survive on their own, having been through their final vet checks and where necessary having had their identification chips implanted (reptiles mainly). During the evening, you will be fitted for rubber boots which are provided complimentary. Extra rubber boots (for those that may need different sizes) can also be purchased from the local market. Boots will be required from Day 8 onwards, if it rains in the jungle conditions can become very wet and muddy. (B,L,D)

Day 8 - Las Piedras Amazon Centre

After an early breakfast, transfer approx. 4hrs to the Las Piedras Amazon Centre (LPAC) via road and river. Stopping along the way at a couple of points to observe the landscape and wildlife, a snack and bottled water will be provided. On arrival at LPAC, you will be shown to your sleeping platforms, which consist of roofed, open-sided, stilted wooden constructions with bunk-beds. These platforms are located a short walk (30-50 metres) from the shared toilet and shower blocks. After settling in, there will be a welcome talk from the LPAC Administrator and staff, including any additional health and safety information that may be required. In the afternoon, after lunch, we will take a guided tour around some of the jungle trails located close to LPAC. Notes: Life jackets will be provided and must be worn when travelling by boat. Bed linen and mosquito nets for your bed at LPAC are also provided. The LPAC Administrator will confirm the periods of day when the electricity generator will be working for people to recharge batteries and so forth. There is no internet/wifi or cell phone signal at LPAC, only VHF Radio and GPS-based SPOT Communications. (B,L,D)

Overnight at LPAC

Day 9 - Las Piedras River

After breakfast, you will split into teams once again. Guided by the field coordinators, learn first hand about the wildlife research and conservation work that is undertaken around the LPAC. You will learn techniques including camera trap surveys of mammals, mist-netting and point count studies of birds, pit-fall trap studies of amphibians, plot counts of tropical trees and other plants, and so forth. Today will offer opportunities for some excellent wildlife photography as you will have the chance to get up close, and potentially handle, some species (only those deemed harmless of course). For those interested, a short introduction on the operations of hand-held GPS machines and how GPS data is inserted into digital maps (as most of the wildlife data is geolocated) is offered. This afternoon, after lunch, take a scenic hike to a lookout atop a cliff above the Las Piedras River, offering spectacular panoramic views across the forest below. Before returning to LPAC, visit a local home where you will learn how Brazil nuts collected from the surrounding forest are processed. After dinner, once it is quite dark, venture out in teams for a short walk in search of some smaller nocturnal Amazonian nightlife – insects and frogs. (B,L,D)

Day 10 & 11 - Field work

Working in teams of 2- 4 you will assist the wildlife research coordinators with their numerous studies. During these two days you will put into practice all you learnt yesterday, fieldwork will be undertaken for approximately 6 – 7 hours per day, the rest of the day is open to relax and explore the local trail network. After dinner on one of these evenings, there will be an illustrated talk led by a staff member showing some of the results of the wildlife research underway at LPAC and other sites. This way, you will also understand how the field data you are helping to collect will be used in the future. (B,L,D)

Day 12 - Macaw Clay Lick

After an early breakfast, depart by boat to identify and count macaws, small parrots and other birds feeding at a clay-lick (locally known as a collpa), located on the banks of the Las Piedras River. The trip to the hide in front of the collpa takes approx. 15min, collecting data and enjoying this wildlife spectacle will be approx. 3 hours. On the way back to LPAC stop off at a pair of waterfalls that plunge into the Las Piedras River for a well earned splash in the cool waters of the falls (remember to bring your swimmers!) Fully refreshed, head back to LPAC for lunch followed by an afternoon forest hike in search of spider monkeys and to note the GPS position of giant trees. (B,L,D)

Day 13 - Lucerna and Rio Piedras

After breakfast, depart by boat heading down river for approx. 20mins to the local communities of Lucerna and Rio Piedras, where you will assist community members with harvesting their fruit crops as well as cacao pods. Under the guiding hands of community members you will take some of this cacao and process it in a traditional way to make a delicious chocolate drink. You will also participate in an environmental education activity at the small primary school in the Lucerna community, including handling of non-venomous snakes, painting posters, and collecting and correctly disposing of rubbish in the public areas of the community. Enjoy lunch in the Lucerna community alongside community members. Returning to LPAC in the late afternoon, laden with papaya and other fruits you harvested this morning, the LPAC chef will make fresh fruit juice for you to enjoy. The afternoon will be at your leisure. (B,L,D)

Day 14 - Sustainable living practices

After breakfast, today’s activities will be focused on sustainable living in and around LPAC. Tasks include installing more raised beds for growing vegetables; attending to tree seedlings in the LPAC tree nursery; collecting wild seed of conservation-important tree species (such as tropical cedar, mahogany, Brazil nut, iron wood, and so forth), composting material, and setting the seeds up for germination in the tree nursery; making and maintaining trail signage (especially for trail intersections); collecting mature Brazil nuts off the forest floor from designated harvest trees; and monitoring the quality of water in the river and streams that run alongside LPAC. After dinner, once it is dark, head out in two groups in two boats to slowly search the banks of the Las Piedras River for Spectacled and Dwarf caiman (types of South American alligator species). (B,L,D)

Day 15 - Puerto Maldonado

After breakfast it is time to pack and say our goodbyes to the LPAC staff, before boarding the boats for the return journey to Puerto Maldonado, with the aim of arriving for a late lunch at a local restaurant. After lunch, check into you hotel, followed by a quick visit to the Animal Rescue Centre to say goodbye to the staff and animals. Visit the local market or the local swimming pool to relax and enjoy the late afternoon sunshine. (B,L,D)

Overnight in Puerto Maldonado

Day 16 - Departure

Enjoy breakfast at the hotel, and with internet access, there is the chance to share imagery and video that has been taken by both your fellow team mates and the staff over the last two weeks. From here transfer to the airport or bus station for your onward journey. (B)

**Please note that this tour can be organised on request for private departures.
* Pricing is subject to change at anytime until full payment has been received.
* A minimum of 2 adults is required to guarantee this departure.
A non-refundable deposit of $1000 AUD per person is required to secure your place. Final payment is due no later than 60 days prior to departure. Travel insurance is mandatory for travelling with Crooked Compass. For full terms and conditions, please click here.